This Week at Facets! June 10-16!

Facets Cinematheque is bustling this weekend, with offerings ranging from new independent features to certifiable classics!

Favorite Son, the story of a bittersweet homecoming that leads to obsession and violence, was directed by Howard Libov from the College at Florham in Madison, New Jersey with a crew made up primarily of Florham students!

The winner of the Best Director and Best Cinematography awards at the Hoboken International Film Festival stars Pablo Schreiber (brother of Liev and co-star Woody Allen's Vicki Cristina Barcelona), Connor Paolo (Gossip Girl) and features music by Murray Attaway of the band Guadalcanal Diary and R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills.

"When you do a movie like this, you rely on as many friends as possible," Libov said. Read the whole story behind Favorite Son at Bloomberg.com, then head to Facets Cinematheque for a screening.

Favorite Son runs Friday, July 10-Thursday, July 16. For additional details, showtimes, tickets and more, visit the Cinematheque online.

Facets Night School returns this Saturday, July 11 with another session devoted to dissecting cult faves and obscurites--all presented at MIDNIGHT complete with lectures by Facets' staff, discussions and more!

For the inaugural evening of Session Two, Facets staff writer Brian Elza presents Ivan the Terrible: Ruling After Midnight, an examination of Sergei Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible: Part One (1944).

In J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum's Midnight Movies book, the critics offered up suggestions for dusty gems that would shine anew at the witching hour. "Other sublime mixtures of the lurid and profound which have a distinctive poetic midnight flavor: Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible, Parts I and II, which intermittently comes across as the greatest Flash Gordon serial ever made." Facets Night School puts that throwaway line on page 317 to the test.

Brian will bring Part I's jam-packed mise-en-scène down to earth, and explain how to make room for yourself amidst all the excess in Sergei Eisenstein's dense, enchanting, and surprisingly campy historical epic.

The trailer!



Lecture begins at MIDNIGHT!! Come early for the opening night reception! Only $5

Admission includes lecture, screening, post-screening discussion, an extensive educational pack on each film, and more. Grindhouse trailers and DVD giveaways round out the experience!

For info, tickets and more, visit Facets Night School online.

Coming Soon: The End of the Line, Munyurangabo and a Facets Night School devoted to the hip hop classic, Wild Style!

See you there!


- Phil Morehart